Joint Commission Names South Nassau “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures®”

For the second consecutive year, the Joint Commission has named South Nassau Communities Hospital a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® for its exemplary use of evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions. South Nassau was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

"This recognition is a direct result of our commitment to our mission to provide the communities and patients we serve with safe, quality, compassionate healthcare that they deserve,” said Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s president and CEO. “Our team of experienced, compassionate, dedicated doctors and nurses are steadfast in their commitment to the highest standards in patient safety.”

South Nassau is one of 1,224 hospitals in the U.S. to earn the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measures data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2013 calendar year. The list of Top Performer organizations represents 36.9 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2013.

The Joint Commission Top Performer honor joins a multitude of others South Nassau has earned for outstanding quality in 2014, including: Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award; American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet® recognition; Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers; Joint Commission Disease-specific Certification in End-stage Renal Disease; and HomeCare Elite™, listing South Nassau’s Home Care as one of the top home health care providers in the United States (for the ninth consecutive year).

To achieve Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, South Nassau:

• achieved cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
• achieved performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases; and
• had at least one core measure set that was a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had to have a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice – for example, giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.